Disney aims to woo kids with 500 hours of fresh content this summer

The network has planned to premiere 24 new series and more than 20 award winning movies in the school vacation season of 2012, across Disney channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior and Hungama TV. New seasons of the local production, Best of Luck Nikki, is also in the pipeline.

To engage the captive audience and meet the increased demand in the vacation season, Disney has stocked 500 hours of fresh content, along with a clear differentiation in the type of content to tap the family audience and the younger age-group.

Hungama TV plans to take the mischievous route with new shows like Chimpui, Ultra B, Luckyman and Space Goofs. The channel has also planned a movie, Shin Chan in Dark Tama Tama Thrilling Chase, based on the character Shin Chan.

Disney XD will host a programming block called 'Marvel Universe' including the animated series of Ultimate Spiderman and Iron Man: Armoured Adventures. Apart from this, the channel will also telecast the animated version of Satyajit Ray's Feluda.

While Disney channel will host the Indian television premiere of Disney classic movies, it also plans to air more than 20 award winning movies. In addition, the fresh movie Doraemon in Nobita's Steel Troops will also be showcased on the channel during the summer months.

Apart from this, the network will premiere 24 new series of content during May and June.

Devika Prabhu, director, programming, Walt Disney Television International India, says, "This is the first time in the genre that such a strong content pipeline has been created to grow the category during our primary viewership months. Along with the award winning movies and the newer series, there will be a lot of local live-action productions, new episodes of Disney original animation, Disney classic movie premieres and acquired animation shows.

"The two shows, The Suite Life of Karan & Kabir and Best of Luck Nikki, have given us a very significant viewership. We will air the second season of Best of Luck Nikki this summer. The show was a favourite amongst girls across the age group of 4-14 years and also amongst older kids aged 10-14 years, both girls and boys."

The network claims to be investing in original content, as compared to other players in the genre. "We produce a lot of shows in-house and integrate local content in many ways. The only difference is that earlier, we focused solely on kids while now, we are also trying to tap the family audiences to some extent," she adds.

The network also plans movie acquisitions and is in the process of commissioning a couple of deals in the near future.